A rather lengthy article from CNA:

Beth Burwell wrestled with the question of whether she could forego having a husband or children.

The answer came to her while visiting a Bronx, N.Y., convent where nuns help single mothers with unwanted pregnancies.

"I held a little girl who had been born at the convent, and I welled up with tears recognizing this little girl might not have been," the 22-year-old from Satellite Beach said in an e-mail. "But God called a group of wonderful women to sacrifice their own marriages and children so that they could help this little girl's mother to say 'yes' to life, 'yes' to motherhood, 'yes' to this precious gift."

Burwell, a University of Central Florida graduate, left a week ago to join the convent of the Sisters of Life and dedicate her life to the Roman Catholic religious order. She was one of five parishioners of Holy Name of Jesus Church in Indialantic, ranging in age from 18 to 34, to enter religious life in recent months, defying a national trend that has seen the ranks of the Catholic Church in the United States grow thinner and grayer.

Labels: U.S. Church, vocations

From CNA:

A 108-year-old sister is preparing to celebrate her 90th anniversary of religious life this month.

Sr. Claude Feldner of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes will join 45 other sisters on July 15 as they celebrate their jubilee anniversaries at Holy Family Sacred Heart Church in Fond du Lac.

Sr. Feldner told The Fond du Lac Reporter that she is living this time as one of gratitude and surprise.

"They didn't think I would live this long," she told the newspaper. "I was threatened with tuberculosis as a young woman and was sent to Kansas to heal. At that time, they thought a dryer climate would help a person. It must have worked because here I am at 108 years old ready to enjoy a party."

Sr. Feldner made her first profession in 1917. Over the years, she taught music in grade schools and college. She continues to play the piano almost daily. She served for many years as a formator for the congregation, preparing young women for religious life.

The congregation serves in the fields of education, health care, social work and pastoral ministry in the United States and Latin America.

Labels: vocations

...with Bishop Kevin!

A news release from the Diocese of Harrisburg boasts of some great news:

In a 30-minute presentation on promoting vocations, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades told the bishops of the United States at their special assembly in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M, that "an enthusiasm, commitment and excitement for promoting vocations – in ourselves and in our dioceses – is an essential component of the new evangelization." The special assembly, focused on the USCCB’s priorities for the next few years: faith formation, marriage and family life, vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and human life.

In his June 21 presentation, Bishop Rhoades offered his fellow bishops a number of methods for fostering vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. He encouraged the bishops to "promote what John Paul II called ‘a vocational culture in the broadest sense.’ He added, "I am convinced that to overcome the vocation crisis, we must help each child to understand and become excited about the fact that God has a plan for his or her entire life, a unique role to play in building up the kingdom and carrying out the allembracing divine plan of salvation" he said.

...

Fifteen men have recently been accepted by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades as candidates for seminary study. They are graduates from Penn State University, Messiah College in Grantham and Trinity High School in Camp Hill, as well as students from Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md., The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and Alvernia College in Reading, Pa.

Coupled with the number of men already in priestly formation for the diocese, the group of 15 brings the total of men in the program to 25. "Twenty-five total is a high and excellent number for us, and 15 men in one year is extraordinary," said Father LaVoie.

...

The third annual Quo Vadis Days – a time of prayer, discussion and fellowship – is set for July 8-12 at Mount St. Mary’s University and Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md. The program will offer nearly 100 young men ages 15-25 an opportunity to pray to God and learn about vocation discernment. Participants spend time with peers, seminarians and priests in a week that includes prayer, presentations, discussion, recreation and a Mass celebrated by Bishop Rhoades. The first year the camp was offered 53 young men attended. The second year of the camp in 2006 saw 93 attend. This year it is expected that the attendees will max out the facilities at 100 participants.

Wow! I've made no secret of my admiration for the good bishop. When I was at the Mount he was really a priest after the heart of Christ. It's no wonder young men want to join up! So bishops of the USA?? (h/t to H of C)

Labels: U.S. Church, vocations

Ahead of my own thoughts on the Lincoln ordinations this past weekend, here is a story from the Southern Nebraska Register on the two of them who are both good friends of mine. I played at the first Mass of Father Holdren and stayed with his family over the weekend.

Deacon Ben Holdren

Deacon Ben Holdren grew up in a faithfully Catholic family at St. Joseph Parish in Friend. He and his twin sister, Emily, are the oldest of Greg and Maureen Holdren’s six children.

“My parents were really good about exposing us to Catholic events.” Deacon Holdren said.

At age 14, he was with his family at a Catholic event in Indianapolis when he responded to an invitation to pray about a priestly vocation. His mother was happy and surprised, but no more surprised than Deacon Holdren himself.

Over the years, Mrs. Holdren occasionally asked her son about that calling. Deacon Holdren was struggling.

“I saw priests as isolated,” he said. “I always thought, I’d love to be married and have kids, so if I have that desire, why would God have called me to the priesthood?”

After high school, Deacon Holdren enrolled at the University of Nebraska-Kearney to study graphic design, finishing with an advertising degree from the Lincoln campus. Twice, he almost went to the seminary, but changed his mind. He even left the Church for a year, trying to resist his vocation.

When he finally made up his mind to attend seminary and made the announcement, his mother responded, “Well, are you going or not?”

Deacon Holdren laughed at the memory. “She’s really happy about it now.”

Once in the seminary, Deacon Holdren experienced a profound sense of peace that he was finally heading in the right direction.

“I just really loved it,” he said. “It totally changed who I was as a person… just finding that God is absolutely real and His love is absolutely real and He has directed that to me personally.”

He is looking forward to becoming “Father Holdren” and becoming part of whatever family of parishioners the bishop will assign him to.

“The priesthood is about having a family,” he emphasized. “It’s definitely in a different way, but not in any less of way. You get to bring them the sacraments…. You are there in the best times and worst times, and you get to bring them hope and joy.”

Deacon Holdren’s first Mass will be at St. John the Apostle Parish in Lincoln, with one of his many mentors, Father Brian Kane, serving as homilist.

Deacon Rafael Rodriguez

Born to Emma and Jose Luis Rodriguez of Mexico City, Deacon Rafael Rodriguez comes from an educated family. His sister is a marine biologist in Cancun; his brother is an electronics professor at the National Polytechnic University in Mexico City. Deacon Rodriguez holds a chemical engineering degree from the same university, as well as a master’s degree in chemistry from the UNL.

Before enrolling at UNL, Deacon Rodriguez had been to the U.S. as a tourist, but never Nebraska. “I couldn’t even find Lincoln on the map the first time I heard of it,” he said.

Little did he anticipate how moving to Lincoln would change his life. While studying for his doctorate in civil engineering, he began attending events at the Newman Center.

“I wanted to know more about my faith,” he explained.

While on retreat with a Newman Center group, Deacon Rodriguez was approached by Father Christopher Kubat, who asked if he might have a vocation to the priesthood.

Deacon Rodriguez answered, “Well, probably... I might.”

Assured of Father Kubat’s prayers, Deacon Rodriguez considered the possibility carefully. He soon enrolled at St. Gregory the Great Seminary to begin the formation process.

“It was a fantastic time, figuring out what the Lord wants to do with my life,” Deacon Rodriguez said.

At the seminary, he learned of the need for Hispanic ministry in the diocese. Deacon Rodriguez anticipates that his priesthood will focus on this population, bringing the sacraments to Hispanic Catholics in their own language and helping them with various social justice issues.

“Most of them, they come for economic needs,” Deacon Rodriguez explained. Having spent last summer at Christo Rey Parish in Lincoln, his fatherly love and concern for the diocese’s Hispanic population is already apparent. “They leave everything behind to come here.”

Deacon Rodriguez said these Hispanic parishioners have taught him something regarding the future of his own retired parents, now that he has exchanged what could have been a lucrative career for the priesthood.

“I learned from them to truly trust in the Lord that He will protect our families that we leave behind and take better care of them than we can ourselves,” he said.

Deacon Rodriguez will say his first Mass at Christo Rey with Father Kubat as the homilist.

Labels: priesthood, vocations

From yesterday's Zenit:

Thirty-eight men from 18 countries were ordained to the priesthood for the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei.

Bishop Javier Echevarria, prelate of Opus Dei, conferred the ordinations Saturday afternoon in Rome, reminding the ordinands in his homily that they will be instruments of the Holy Spirit "to illuminate souls and answer the questions that weigh upon the hearts of many people."

A reported 1,500 people were present for the ordinations that took place in the Basilica of St. Eugene.

The new priests come from Ireland, the Netherlands, the United States, Australia, Germany, Spain, Colombia, Italy, the Philippines, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile, France, Congo, Brazil, Argentina, Kenya and Guatemala.

During the Mass, Bishop Echevarria offered the new priests some advice from Opus Dei's founder, St. Josemaria Escriva: "We priests must only speak of God. We will not speak of politics, or social ideologies or questions extraneous to the priestly task. In this way, we will make the Holy Church and the Roman Pontiff loved."

Brian Maguire, an American who flew to Rome to attend the event, said: "Many Americans are understandably discouraged by the so-called vocations crisis here at home. They should go to Rome. There's no doubt that God is renewing the Church from its heart in Rome.

"Saturday's ordinations showed not only that many young men are responding to this call, but that they are doing so generously and enthusiastically when it's presented to them as a lifelong surrender of self for others."

Labels: Opus Dei, priesthood, vocations

Saint John's Rector resigns early:

The leader of St. John's Seminary in Brighton resigned abruptly last week, saying he is unhappy with the Archdiocese of Boston for selling the seminary's library and one of its halls as part of a $65 million sale of church headquarters to Boston College.

The Rev. John A. Farren, rector of St. John's Seminary since 2003, had been scheduled to step down on June 30 to take a new assignment in New York City, but Farren resigned last week after the school's board voted to support the sale of 18 acres of archdiocesan land to Boston College. Farren e-mailed a letter of resignation to the board on May 24 that detailed his fierce opposition to the sale, which includes the seminary's Bishop Peterson Hall as well as the seminary library.

Board member Mary Kate Connolly confirmed Farren's early resignation, but declined to share his resignation letter or discuss its contents. Farren, a Dominican priest from Medford who was ordained in 1964, did not respond to requests for comment on his departure.

...

Under the deal, which still must be approved by the Vatican, the archdiocese would retain only one building of the seminary, St John's Hall. However, Donilon said, the enormous structure is ample for the seminary's current operations.

He also said that Farren's early departure will have little practical effect since O'Malley has already named the Rev. Arthur L. Kennedy to take over as seminary rector on July 1.

Labels: local, vocations

From Catholic News Agency:

Nearly 500 men from Catholic dioceses across the country will be ordained for the priesthood this spring. This year’s cohort is representative of the Church in the United States, which is filled with well-educated professionals, newcomers to the nation and souls touched by war.

At least seven ordinands have a military background. Others immigrated to the United States, leaving situations of poverty and strife in their countries of origin. About one-third of the class is foreign-born, coming from countries as diverse as Poland, Vietnam and the Philippines.

About six percent of the Class of 2007 are converts to Catholicism. Douglas Freer, for example, who will be ordained for the Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey, was an Episcopal priest for 12 years.

The men being ordained have a broad range of educational backgrounds. Many are educators. One was a professional pilot for 28 years, another worked in finance and yet another in law enforcement. Other ordinands include former physicians, lawyers, psychologists, architects, and the vice-president of an ad agency.

Ages vary, too. Among the older candidates for ordination are a 60-year-old and a 53-year-old in the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee.

Some men were in religious orders as brothers or friars. They received dispensation from their orders to be ordained diocesan priests. Others are widowers.

The number of ordinations varies from diocese to diocese as well. Some dioceses, such as Stockton, California, are ordaining their largest group in years. Spokane Diocese has seen an increase in the diocesan priesthood over the last three years. From 2004 to 2007, the number of active priests in the diocese has increased by 20 percent. The boost comes as the diocese deals with bankruptcy brought on by the clergy sexual abuse scandal.

I'll be in Rockford, Illinois next weekend for ordinations and Lincoln, Nebraska the week after. June and July will be Fall River ordinations. Unfortunately, I'm not getting to as many as I had hoped. I'm missing Rockford (Diaconate), Columbus, and Burlington. Despite my blogging absence, I'll be giving info on all of them as I see them happening.

USCCB's annual survey on the Class of 2007

Praying for holy and faithful priests...

Labels: priesthood, U.S. Church, vocations

Effective vocation strategies compiled by the National Catholic Register:

Six Habits of Highly Effective Dioceses

Based on what we learned, here are six questions successful dioceses all answer “Yes.”

1. Is the Eucharist the center of vocation efforts?

2. Is the diocese unabashed about personally inviting men to be priests?

3. Is the seminary faithful to the magisterium of the Church?

The seminaries that are booming, like Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Md., St. Vincent in Latrobe, Pa., and St. Gregory the Great in Seward, Neb., are ones with a reputation for being faithful to the magisterium.

4. Are there many strong and faithful families to draw from?

5. Do young men know and interact with priests?

6. Did young people in the area go to World Youth Day?

Go to the article for the details of each.

Labels: U.S. Church, vocations